


Wherever I Go, You Bring Me Home

by HazzaBearStyles



Series: Tumblr Prompts [3]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fix-It, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Mitch is the best bro, zarry feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 14:02:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16138769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazzaBearStyles/pseuds/HazzaBearStyles
Summary: Can you do a Zarry fic where it's a few years after the break up of 1D and Zayn and Harry run into each other at the Brit Awards and after an awkward interaction, start talking again and they finally give into feelings that were there while they were a part of 1D? They end up touring together and announcing their engagement to the fans. Super fluffy!!





	Wherever I Go, You Bring Me Home

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Thank you sooo so much for the prompt! I LOVED writing this one! I hope y’all like it! Next prompt will be up shortly and as always, send in your prompts!
> 
> Word Count: 3611
> 
> Warnings: None

Zayn rubbed his face tiredly as he got out of his limo to head inside to the Brit Awards. If he was being honest, as much as he loved the fans and all the support for events such as this, it could begin to wear on you really fast. He took a deep breath before smiling and turning towards the cameras.

“Zayn! Look over here!”

“Zayn can we get a statement?”

“Zayn!”

Zayn smiled at everyone and would stop for an autograph or selfie with a fan from time to time. This part. This part he didn’t mind. He loved interacting with his fans so much. It brought him great joy to be surrounded by those who believed in him and his music.

Within a few moments, the twenty-seven year old was in the building where the award ceremony was being held. He said hi to a few of his friends and visited with them for a while before making his way over to the bar.

Zayn had just ordered his drink when he heard a voice behind him that he had not heard in a few years now.

“Zayn?”

The Bradford man had to take a deep breath before plastering on a fake smile and turning around to face none other than Harry Styles.

“Hello, Harry.”

~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-

Harry was hanging around with his friends, Ed and Nick before he realized that he needed another drink. “Alright lads, I need another drink. I’ll be right back.”

Nick clapped the younger man on the back. “Hurry back, mate! You don’t want to miss a second of you winning this entire thing do you?”

Harry chuckled awkwardly and looked down. “You don’t know for sure that that’s going to happen.”

Ed and Nick only shared a look and rolled their eyes. “Of course it is, mate!” Ed replied as he ruffled Harry’s hair. 

Harry batted at Ed’s hand and stood up with a chuckle. “OK. I’ll be right back!”

The Cheshire man made his way over to the bar, stopping on his way to say hi to some old friends along the way. He slowed down as he got close to his destination when he saw someone he recognized. Someone he hadn’t seen personally in a few years. Not since he left One Direction. And damn it why did his heart stop when he saw him. How could he still have a crush on him?

“Zayn?”

~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-

Zayn and Harry could only stare at each other awkwardly as they looked for something to say to each other.

“Um… so… how are things going?” Harry asked. “I heard you were nominated for Male Solo Artist. Congratulations.” Harry offered a small smile.

Zayn nodded as he studied his hands. “Thank you, Harry. Congrats on being nominated as well.”

Harry looked down and blushed. Even after all these years, compliments still made Harry bashful. “Thank you.”

Zayn felt the ghost of a genuine smile grace his lips for a split second before it was gone.

“So how have you been?” Zayn asked searching desperately for something to talk about. He just wanted to get his drink and get out of this situation.

Even after five years, he still barely talked to his former bandmates. A few pleasantries were exchanged every now and then when he would inevitably run into them. It’s not that he wished them any ill will but… what do you say to the guys that you used to be practically brothers with? What do you say to the one man who was more than just a friend or a brother?

“I… uh… I’ve been good.” Harry replied. “Getting ready to release the new album.” Harry nodded as he looked around, begging for a distraction. Any distraction. “I uh I heard your new single. It’s amazing Zayn. You should be really proud.”

Zayn felt his heart flutter at the compliment. ‘No, Malik.’ He berated himself. ‘Don’t get distracted by his compliments. Now is not the time.’ 

“Thank you.” Zayn nodded, looking up at the younger man. Another awkward silence. “So, how’s Dillon?”

Harry gave a small smile as he thought about his long-term boyfriend. “He’s great. He has had a super busy schedule, touring with Justin. He couldn’t be here tonight.” 

Harry looked sad at that and damn it. Why did it bother Zayn so much to still, to this day, see the curly-haired man upset? Zayn found himself, for the briefest of moments wanting to reach out and grab Harry’s hand in a comforting gesture.

“I’m sorry to hear that, mate.” Zayn settled for that, meaning it. It’s not like he wanted Harry to be hurt or upset. He still cared about him. 

Harry smiled at the other man and nodded. Both men looked up at the bartender as she handed their drinks over. “Here you go, loves. Sorry, it took so long. Enjoy!”

“Well, I guess I’ll catch you later,” Zayn said as he straightened up. 

“It was nice seeing you again,” Harry said and Zayn turned back to smile at him. 

“it was nice seeing you too.”

~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-

If there was one thing that Zayn hated about these events was the never-ending mass of paps everywhere. Normally, the Bradford man could ignore them, a skill learned over time in this business. Tonight was not one of those times. They were all after him it seemed tonight. Wanting to know about his recent breakup with Gigi. About if he was already seeing someone else. About his new single. About if he ever planned to ‘make up’ with the other guys of One Direction. And, most recently, what his conversation with Harry tonight had been about.

It was none of their business. Obviously. But, like vultures, they kept persisting. It was enough to take all the fun out of tonight and, soon enough, Zayn just had to get away. Luckily, the Brit Awards were over and he could be in peace. He quickly excused himself from his friends and walked off. He didn’t know how, but he soon found himself backstage wandering around. 

The twenty-seven-year-old walked up to the main stage as the building cleared out. He sat down on the edge of the stage and looked around not really sure what he was doing anymore. Nights like these did that to him. Nights when the paps got to him and reminded him of every single thing that had gone wrong or differently than he had planned. His breakups with friends or girlfriends alike.

Don’t get him wrong. He loved what he did and he loved his fans more than anything but sometimes he wondered after all this time if it was still worth it. Was it worth it if he had doubts sometimes? Was it worth it if he thought about giving this all up sometimes? He wasn’t so sure.

“Hey.” Zayn looked up when he heard a voice behind him. He saw Harry standing there with a couple of drinks in his hands. “I uh, I heard that the paps got a little rough tonight. I just wanted to make sure you were OK.” Zayn only shrugged before he turned back around.

Harry sat down next to Zayn on the stage. “Here.” The curly-haired man handed him a drink.

Zayn stared at it for a moment before accepting. “Thank you.”

The two sat in a somewhat awkward silence for a while before Zayn spoke.

“Do you ever still wonder what life would be like if all of this hadn’t happened?”

Harry looked over at the older man and nodded. “Sometimes, yes.” He replied. “I wonder how different things would be if I hadn’t auditioned for the X-Factor. If they hadn’t paired us in a group.”

Zayn laid down on his back. “There is just so much happening lately that sometimes I will start to wonder for a brief moment if this is all worth it.”

“Hmmm.” Harry nodded. “Feels like you’re suffocating sometimes?”

“Yeah. Like the bad is starting to outweigh the good and it keeps building and building.” Zayn added, rubbing a hand over his face.

“And you don’t want to say it out loud because then it would make you seem ungrateful. For the fans. The fame. Everything. And really you’re not but it’s just so hard to remember.”

“Yeah…” Zayn whispered. “That too.”

“I understand.” Harry slammed back the rest of his drink.

“Nights like this just make me think of leaving it all…” Zayn said as he took another drink.

“You still want to become an English teacher, huh?”

Zayn looked at Harry, surprised that he still remembered that and Harry chuckled.

“Of course I still remember. You always talked with such passion about it. You’d be a fantastic teacher, you know.”

Zayn blushed at that but gave Harry a genuine smile. “Thanks, mate.” He sat up. “You know, I haven’t been able to talk to anyone like this in a while. It’s not that I don’t have anyone to talk to it’s just a matter of having someone who would understand. Thank you, Harry.”

Harry leaned forward and looked into Zayn’s eyes, a serious and sincere look gracing his features. “Zayn, whatever happened between us or the band or anything all those years ago, that would never change the fact that you were and still are one of my closest mates. I still care about you and if you ever need anyone to talk to, you can always reach me. I promise.”

“I just may take you up on that,” Zayn said as he placed a hand on the Cheshire man’s shoulder. “You can come to me too, Haz.”

Harry smiled at the use of his old nickname and the two sat in companionable silence.

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Over the next few months, Harry and Zayn began to grow incredibly close. It started out small and slow. A text here and there. An invitation to lunch from time to time. Soon though, the two men were texting each other every single day, sometimes more than once a day. Whenever they weren’t in London at the same time, they would Skype each other and talk for hours. They talked about everything and when one was having a rough time, the other would do what they could to make them smile again.

When Zayn was starting to feel homesick again and whenever he was feeling down about Gigi, Harry was there in a flash. He would comfort him and do everything he could to take his mind off.

And when Dillon suddenly broke up with Harry via text of all things, Zayn was the first one that Harry called in tears. Zayn stayed with Harry that night, not willing to let him go for anything or anyone. They grew even closer after that night.

Whenever Harry got a message from the Bradford man, he couldn’t stop the smile that lit up his face. His band got a kick out of teasing him. Especially Mitch.

“Who are you texting, Styles?” Mitch teased as he beamed at Harry. “Could it be Zaynie?”

Harry threw a pillow at the older man who easily dodged it. “Shut it, mate. It’s none of your business.”

“On the contrary little brother, I make it my business when it comes to your happiness,” Mitch said as he sat down next to Harry. “And if I’m being perfectly honest, I haven’t seen you this happy even when you were with… him.” Mitch spat, referring to Dillon. It had not sat well with Mitch, Sarah, Clare or Adam when they had heard how Dillon had ended things. Harry’s band had wanted to storm the older singer’s house and, as Sarah put, ‘take care of him’, but Harry had stopped them saying he wasn’t worth it.

Harry blushed, looking anywhere but at his guitarist. “Well, we’re just really good friends.”

“Oh yeah right. C’mon, Har. We’ve known each other for how long? I know you better than that.”

“Really, Mitch. We’re just friends. Plus, we just started talking again so being anything more would be too much… right now.”

Mitch chuckled as he ruffled Harry’s curls. “You really like him huh?”

Harry sighed and looked at his best friend. “I never told anyone this but I used to have a major crush on him a long time ago. And I think those feelings are starting to come back.”

Mitch nodded in understanding and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “If you were to talk to him, Har, I am certain that you would find that he returns those feelings. Every one of us can tell by the way he looks at you.”

Harry shook his head at that. “You’re bonkers. There’s no way that… that he likes me. Like that. At all.”

“You can be so dense sometimes.” Mitch countered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Anyway, we’d better get going. We have a rehearsal to get back to.”

~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- 

Zayn looked over at his phone as it began to ring. He smiled and felt his heart flutter when he saw that it was Harry calling. Without hesitation, he picked up.

“Hello Haz. What-”

“Zayn?”

Zayn stopped when he was cut off by a voice he didn’t recognize. “I’m sorry… who is this?”

“Zayn, it’s Mitch. From Harry’s band.”

“Oh… I’m sorry but why are you calling on Harry’s phone?”

“It’s Harry,” Mitch replied, almost sounding out of breath and Zayn felt his heart drop at that.

“What happened? What are you on about?” Zayn asked frantically already standing up and throwing a jacket and shoes on.

“We were on our way home from rehearsal and there was a group of paps waiting outside for him. They got too close and started to crowd him and one of them hurt him.” Mitch explained. “I managed to get him home but he’s having a really bad panic attack and he’s asking for you.”

Zayn felt his blood boil when he heard what had happened to Harry. “I’m on my way now. Let him know that I’m coming.”

Zayn hung up with the other man and ran out to his car. If he were being completely honest, he couldn’t remember a thing about the ride there. All that was on his mind was reaching Harry. Within no time at all, Zayn was pulling up in front of Harry’s flat. He parked his car and ran inside.

“Harry?” He called out. “Harry, where are you?”

Someone stepped out of the living room and Zayn recognized it as Mitch.

“Where is he? How badly was he hurt?”

“He’s in the living room right now and I managed to get him to calm down some,” Mitch replied as he walked up to the other man. “It was his arm that was hurt. He has a huge bruise on it but other than that, he’s ok. I think he just really needs you right now.”

Zayn nodded and made to walk into the living room when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at Mitch who was looking at him pleadingly.

“Take care of him,” was all he said before he turned and left.

Zayn walked into the other room and found Harry on the couch still visibly shaking. The older man felt his heart break at the sight. There were visible tear tracks on Harry’s face and the younger man seemed to be cradling his arm to his chest while holding a pack of ice against it.

“Oh, Haz.” Zayn sighed as he stepped over to the couch and sat down.

The second Harry saw him, he scrambled over to him and sat in his lap, burying his face in Zayn’s chest. Sobs started to sound from the curly-haired man as Zayn wrapped protective arms around him.

“Z-Zayn…” Harry choked out.

“Shhh… it’s ok. I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere. You’re safe. Just let it out.”

And Harry did. He spent the next hour crying into Zayn’s chest and letting all the panic and hurt out of his system. Between his earlier panic attack and crying, by the time that he was done, Harry was spent. Zayn saw this and kissed his friend’s forehead.

“Go to sleep, Haz. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Zayn promised as he settled more comfortably into the couch.

Harry fell asleep after tightening his hold on Zayn and cuddling deeper into the older man’s chest.

~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- 

When Harry woke next, he was still in Zayn’s lap and it was just past 3 in the morning.

“Zaynie?” Harry asked as he sat up. “You stayed?”

“Of course I stayed, Haz,” Zayn replied. I promised that I would and I will always keep my promises to you.”

Harry smiled at him before raising his arms to stretch them. The twenty-six-year-old hissed in pain as he brought his injured arm back down to his chest. He had forgotten about that.

“Hey, let me take a look at that,” Zayn said softly as he gently rolled up Harry’s sleeve.

What he saw underneath angered him greatly. There, on Harry’s arm, was a giant hand-shaped bruise and oh how did Zayn wish he could knock the bloody guy out who did this to his Harry.

Zayn stopped himself when he thought that. ‘His Harry?’ Where did that even come from. Harry wasn’t his. Even though the older man wished him to be. But that wasn’t the point right now. Right now he needed to take care of the nasty bruise on his friend’s shoulder.

“Ok, Haz. Let’s get that taken care of. I’ll get you some pain meds and some new ice.”

Gently placing Harry down on the couch, Zayn kissed his forehead and then made his way to the kitchen. When he returned, he picked Harry up again and placed him back in his lap.

“Here.” He handed Harry a bottle of water and some Aspirin. Once Harry had taken the medicine, Zayn placed the ice pack on Harry’s arm and continued to hold him.

“Zaynie?” Harry asked after a few moments of lying in silence.

“Yes, Haz?”

Harry looked down nervously for a moment before seeming to gather his courage. He looked back at Zayn and leaned forward, kissing the Bradford man, softly on the lips.

“Thank you.” Harry looked back down hoping that he hadn’t just ruined his friendship with the older man.

A hand appeared below his chin and lifted his face to look at Zayn. Zayn had a soft smile on his face as he replied. “Anytime.” And he closed the distance between him and Harry.

~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- 

“Alright, London!” Harry laughed as he waved at his fans, for this next song, I asked an old friend for help. “Want to help me get him out on the stage?”

All the fans started screaming and cheering as Harry held out the microphone to the crowd. Laughing again Harry clapped. “OK, everyone. Please help me in welcoming, Zayn Malik to the stage!”

The crowd in the stadium went nuts at this announcement. Zayn came running out and hugged Harry close before waving to the crowd.

“Hello, everyone. Are you all having a great time tonight?” Zayn asked.

The crowd cheered in agreement.

“And how amazing is this man standing right next to me?” Zayn asked as he waved a hand at Harry who blushed.

The crowd screamed in agreement again and Zayn chuckled at their amusement.

“Now, before we start this next song that Harry and I wrote together, I have an announcement.”

Harry looked at Zayn in confusion but went along with it.

The crowd quieted down a bit and Zayn continued. “As you know, Harry and I will be touring together for the next year.”

At the mention of that, the crowd began to cheer again.

“Well as much as I love my friend Harry here, there is someone I really want to be there.”

At this, Zayn got down on one knee. The crowd lost it at that. Harry’s eyes started to fill with tears.

“Harry Edward Styles. I have never in my met anyone as amazing and sweet and kind and humble as you. I love you with all my heart and it would mean the absolute world to me if I got to share the rest of this tour and my life with you.”

Zayn pulled out a ring.

“Yes,” Harry said, crying.

“I haven’t even asked you yet.” Zayn chuckled.

“Yes,” Harry repeated.

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

Zayn smiled widely at his now fiance as he slipped the ring onto Harry’s finger. He got up and wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist, spinning him around and ending it with a kiss.

As the crowd went wild, Harry thought to himself that he wouldn’t change this moment for anything in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: As always, if you’d like, send the prompts my way!! I love you all XxxOoo Send prompts to https://hazza-bearstyles.tumblr.com/ask


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